In 2013, Matthew turned his home into a sober living facility for men, called the Perry House. He also wrote the play The End of Longing, which he said was a “personal message to the world, an exaggerated form of me as a drunk.” He added: “I had something important to say to people like me, and to people who love people like me.”
After his death, a clip from the star’s live interview on the Q with Tom Power podcast last year resurfaced online, where Matthew told the crowd: “The best thing about me, bar none, is if somebody comes up to me and says: ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say yes and follow up and do it.”
“It’s the best thing. And I’ve said this for a long time; when I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned, and I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that,” he added.
